Walker's Tower
by CritterQueen64
Summary: Ser Pearson Colt knows nothing of Fade Walkers, so he has nothing to fear... yet. Jayda Bel has had nightmares ever since she can remember and has been a danger to herself and others ever since then. Ongoing, changing POV per chapter. M rating just to be safe; abuse, violence, adult themes. Set near the end of DAII.
1. Arriving

Pearson Colt Part 1

When Pearson Colt arrived at the West Seleny Circle, he knew nothing of Fade Walkers or the trouble that they might cause him. Pearson was a young Templar but first in his class in all accords. He was a gentleman and a soldier winning quickly the admiration of his trainers and peers. His abilities with lyrium were most remarkable.

The long journey to West Seleny was tedious and held few moments of note; an old woman tried to pay for his services one night, the ferryman at Kirkwall kept making hungry eyes at Fenwick, his horse. Certainly out of the ordinary but nothing remarkable. Nothing like West Seleny.

It was an Antivan Circle, one that he had never heard of before receiving his reassignment a few days ago. This was as far as Pearson had ever been from Redcliffe. He had travelled the Imperial Highway all the way to West Hill before he and Fenwick got on a rickety ferry to Kirkwall. From there they rode up to Tantervale which was the last they had seen of civilization for days. They crossed the Minantern River and headed toward their goal.

Pearson could finally see the gates surrounding West Seleny. The map in his hand showed a small tower surrounded by waterways but it failed to represent the scene he entered. The area truly had no name on Antivan maps and was only ever referred to as West Seleny because it was west of Seleny.

"Clever." He muttered as he examined his surroundings.

It was a swampy, moist place. Various buzzing things aimed themselves at his armor and he did the best he could to wave off the pests without losing his balance. This place was dark but his eyes were bright as his steed moved steadily onward.

The tower was shorter than most but what it lacked in height it compensated for with width. It was a large, round, stone fortress with the tower at the back end. The front gate was taller than the walls and made of iron. As Fenwick's feet neared the gate, Pearson could make out a distinct difference between the stone that composed the rounded walls and the stone that held the gate in place. It was darker and appeared smoother. Almost liquid. And, as he approached the gate, two guardsmen greeted him.

"Maker's blessing." The shorter one said, offering a salute.

"Andraste's will." He answered, dismounting Fenwick, he handed the reins to the one who had spoken.

"Pearson Colt, I presume?" the taller one asked, his words thick with Orlais.

"Yes ser." He saluted, grinning. "Reporting for duty."

"You're enthusiastic." The Orlesian said. "That will wear off soon enough."

Pearson's smile dimmed.

"Oh, don't listen to Thorman." She smiled. "Walker's Tower isn't all that bad."

Thorman scoffed.

"Walker's Tower?" Pearson looked at his map. "I didn't know it was called…"

"Oh, it's not on the map as that." She answered. "That's what we call it."

"Oh." Pearson nodded. "Where should I report in?"

"I'll take you." The short one offered.

"Who will watch the gate?" Pearson asked. Thorman and the short guard exchanged a look.

"Don't worry," the short one said "It's being watched."

Pearson grabbed only a few papers and his travel sack from the saddle. He started off behind the short guard toward Walker's Tower. There were many smaller buildings inside the walls. All with the same, liquid stone appearance. He could identify a few of the buildings outright. There was a blacksmith, a training house, a bakery, and a garden all in plain view leading to the tower entrance. Behind those buildings were at least two more rows of structures.

"There's more here than I expected." He blurted.

"Oh?" she replied.

"Yes. I look forward to exploring what all you have here."

"We've got quite a lot. Nearest village is a good three days ride, as I'm sure you know. We find ways to be self-sufficient." Her legs may have been shorter than Pearson's but her stride was quick and he struggled to keep her pace. "Name's Keely. Keely Lock. I'm originally from Wycome."

"Wycome? That's quite a ways." He realized as the words escaped how entirely untraveled he had made himself sound.

"Says you." Keely continued, her feet seeming never to linger in the sand. "I've never been south of Jainen, can't imagine the trek it was to get here from Redcliffe."

They crossed a courtyard and Pearson could see the full height of the tower now. Thirty, maybe forty feet high, the circular tower was supported by massive blocks of stone and iron beams. There seemed to be no wood used in the construction, almost as if it had been carved out of a mountain and planted here.

"From the Korcari Wilds, actually."

"Really?!" Keely stopped and turned to him almost completely knocking him to the ground. Pearson stumbled and recovered in a manner less than graceful. Keely didn't seem to notice or care.

"Yes…" he started. "We were looking for some apostates there when I received word of my transfer here."

"The Korcari Wilds…" her eyes seemed to glaze a bit. "Is it at all like they say? Full of witches and darkness and things we can only imagine?"

Pearson allowed a slight grin. The sad fact was that most of the Wilds were just overgrown trees and want-to-be apostates. He too had heard the tales of old magics lurking those woods but he himself had never seen a lick of it. "Perhaps sometime I can tell you about it." He covered.

"Oh! The adventures you must have had! And to leave it to come to this place." She shook her head and kept walking. "You're better than I."

He would have responded with something charming had he not had to again pick up his pace as they entered the doors of the tower.

The doors themselves were marvels of craft. Each one made entirely of a single piece of stone, hung in just a way that they made no noise upon opening but closed with a thunderous crash. Once inside, there was a hall to his right, a room to his left, and a spiral staircase before him. Keely began marching up the stairs, not seeming to lose a single breath.

The stairs continued upward but they exited at the first landing. Doors leading to unknown places, all single pieces of stone, circled around the staircase in all directions. Pearson counted six of them. Keely led him to the one on his right.

"We'll catch up some time." She smiled. "I want to hear all about the Wilds!"

"That would be great." He smiled back. "Thank you for your help."

"Of course," she put her hand on the door. "And good luck."

She opened the door for him, allowing him to enter without herself leaving the hallway. He nodded to her and turned his attention into the room where he saw two Templars dressed in full armor, one sitting at a desk, the other leaning on it and looking at him as though he had interrupted something important.

"Pearson Colt reporting for-"

"Who in Andraste's name let _you_ in here?!" The man standing by the desk pounded his fist, making the papers fly.

"Well," the gentleman behind the desk cleared his throat. "That's quite an informal introduction is it not?"

Pearson, either from resorting to his military training or from shock, stood silent staring at the wall.

"Roderick, you can't allow every-" the angrier of the two started.

"Solomon, this man is a Templar and a soldier, are you not?"

Pearson could feel his heart in his throat as he nodded. "Pearson Colt, reporting for reassignment."

"See there, Solomon? We were expecting him." Roderick stood from his desk, forcing Solomon to straighten his posture and move toward the wall.

"I would have hoped that we could meet under different circumstances." Roderick smiled. "I wasn't expecting you for another day or two."

"Knight-Commander, shall I return when you have finished?" Solomon turned, biting his words.

The Knight-Commander let out a small sigh. "If you must, Ser Garde." And with that, Ser Garde bowed his head, glared at Pearson, and exited the room brushing his armor against Pearson's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, ser." Pearson began to step out of the room. "I hadn't known…"

" Don't be ridiculous, son." The Knight-Commander said. "You're here now. The new recruit, yes?"

Pearson stood at attention. "Ser, Pearson Colt reporting for duty."

"So you said. May I ask, why are you here ahead of schedule?"

"I left as soon as I received word of my new assignment." Pearson could feel the sweat building up beneath his armor.

"But it's at least a six days' ride from the Wilds. We only sent your reassignment orders just over a week ago."

"Fenwick is a good steed." Pearson answered. "One of the fastest in the Hinterlands."

"No doubt one of the fastest in all of Thedas that you could cut your journey time in half."

"If you don't mind my saying so, Knight-Commander, my orders had mentioned that you yourself would be absent for at least another month and I was to report in with Ser Garde."

"Ah, well, Solomon. He is my second." He grinned. "Not always so unpleasant a fellow, mind you. But to answer your question, it seems my cousin, Knight-Commander Meredith in Kirkwall, now feels that she has a handle on her situation and no longer needs my assistance." His grin faded and his eyes drifted to the floor. "But that is not why you are here." He looked back up to Pearson and rose from his desk. He began to walk around to face him. "You are here because the Circle in Redcliffe couldn't use you."

This was news to him. He stood still, not sure how to answer.

"Not how I would use you. They spoke of your prominence, your skills, and your way with the mages." Pearson heard a ringing in his ears and felt that he might sweat himself out of his armor into a puddle. "Yes they spoke highly of you but they believed your time here would be…" Roderick looked him in the eye and Pearson could feel a part of him chill at the stare. "More promising."

Pearson felt his body ease some as Knight-Commander Roderick explained that a talented Templar such as he could only stay in the withering Redcliffe outcrop only for so long before realizing his higher calling. He wasn't sure what his "higher calling" was, exactly and Knight-Commander wasn't obliged to expound. Pearson had trained in Lothering after that terrible business with Terhyn Loghain was long forgotten and his vigil was heralded as a great success. Word of it had reached Antiva and so now here he was.

Knight-Commander Roderick allowed Ser Garde to give the tour of the tower. His mood had seemed to soften some but Pearson was still diligent to keep his mannerisms in line with protocol. He noted that while much of the basic structure of the tower reflected others he had seen, all of the doors were made from single, large slabs of the same stone. Ser Garde refrained from taking him to heavily mage-occupied areas claiming that it would be better to greet them in the morning. He had, after all, just come from a long journey from the south.

At length, he was led to his barracks which, he was told, were the new recruit barracks. They were separate from the other Templars. Isolated. Pearson couldn't help but notice the very trap-like nature of their walls.

Ser Garde bid him a well-rested night and was off to complete other tasks. Presumably he would return to look at the papers which Pearson had so clumsily distracted him from.

Pearson sat on his bunk. He bounced on it slightly as the springs sang. The moon had already appeared in the sky though the sun had yet to bow its head. He sighed. He began to take off his armor and placed it on the stand across from his bed.

Though his first day there had been plagued with anxiety, more questions than answers, and ill-will, he had no doubt that soon he would be back on top. He was charming. He was intelligent. He was a good soldier. Knight-Commander Roderick had said that he was highly desirable. So why was he in a little-known tower with no town to name it?

He got up and closed the door to his room.

That was when he noticed that there were no windows. _This must be an isolation chamber of some sort_ , he thought. Perhaps a prank? Or some initiation ritual they had neglected to mention. He stumbled his way back to his bed, pulled the covers over his legs, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was another a day and promised to be better.

After all, he knew nothing of Fade Walkers, so what had he to fear?


	2. Going for a Walk

Jayda's hand reached out for the glowing stone. As her fingers approached the object, the light from it entangled with her skin and she felt it burn as it crawled up her arm.

She didn't scream.

She didn't want to.

The burn was painful but it was rewarding. It filled her with a warmth she had never known and for that she refused to pull her hand away. The burn deepened and seared her skin. Her teeth began to grind. Her eyes closed as the heat moved up her veins into her chest. It was tight but freeing. The light was blinding now and even with her eyes closed she could see its intensity.

She heard a scream and the light dimmed, heat waning. She glanced around. Her own voice was silent and she fought the idea that was now pressing in on her surroundings.

She focused. The light brightened again, the stone beginning to take on a new shape. Still, she couldn't make out what it was or why she felt the need to touch it. She tried to get her hand closer but the stone resisted. Breathing in she closed her eyes and once more heard a scream.

"No." She said, pushing her hand toward the stone. The power and light pushed back, kept her from touching it. The screaming grew louder, more distinct. "I'm not finished!" she yelled back to it.

But then she was awake.

The world around her, green and glittering, began to dissolve. Like rain drops, pieces of that reality fell from the sky to the ground, revealing the world around her. Jayda shook the sensation of the stone from her hand and blinked her eyes. This was never easy and never pretty. She looked around.

As the Fade drifted out of view she saw the source of the screaming: her roommate was once more pinned under her bed. There was a significant amount of ice around the bed frame and a fire in the corner of the room.

"Oh Valynne…" Jayda rushed over to the bed frame, placing her hands on the frozen wood, and peeling it away from the wall. "I'm so sorry!"

"Jaytha?" her voice was muffle under the mattress. "Jaytha get me out oth here!"

Jayda pulled on the mattress. Below it, a little blonde elven head popped out, eyes round and bluer than believable. They went immediately to the fire in the corner which had grown slightly. Her elven fingers waved and the flames danced across the room to her. She absorbed them into her hands, converting their energy.

Jayda sighed. "Valynne," she gave her hand helping pull her friend from the icy mess. "I am so, so sorry."

"Oh Jayda, it's not me you have to be worried about." Valynne struggled out of her bed clothes which seemed to have ensnared her permanently. "You know I don't mind." She smiled.

Jayda smiled back. Valynne did mind, of course. No one prefers to be hurled from their bed in the middle of the night, surrounded by ice, and forced to absorb magical flames. But, more than the others, Valynne was tolerant. Maybe even understanding. She herself was quite the formidable mage and that gave Jayda some credibility with the other mages that she might not have gotten otherwise.

Fade Walkers, they were called. Every mage in the tower bore this description but none quite the way that Jayda did. They were cursed, she would say, to live between two worlds. Most mages can control their actions in the Fade while sleeping. They keep their bodies at rest while their minds explore. Fade Walkers can do no such thing. They must move as their bodies do while their minds are in the Fade.

It is a dangerous condition. One that Jayda has lived and lamented since she could remember. Valynne had a similar story though she had achieved what most Walkers wish for: Harmony. Taken from the Chant of Light:

 _"By the Maker's will I decree  
Harmony in all things.  
Let Balance be restored  
And the world given eternal life."_

Jayda couldn't understand Harmony but Valynne said it was like a cool water running through her veins, keeping her from travelling where she could not and should not while in the Fade. It allowed her to be present rather than finding herself tangled in bedsheets again.

Jayda thought about the heat that ran through her veins when she was approaching the stone and wondered if Harmony would dull the pain and the exhilaration or somehow give her clarity for it. She may never know.

"I cannot fathom what it is that you get out of our friendship." Jayda helped tug on the strands that were holding her friend. She sat back on the crumpled mattress and sighed. "I fear it's getting worse."

"Don't worry, it's only a blanket." Valynne grinned.

"That's _not_ what I meant." Jayda grinned back.

"I know," Valynne ruffled her shoulders, loosening the last of the sheets with grace that only an elf could muster. She sat next to Jayda and put her arm around her slumped shoulders. "You want to know why I am friends with you?" She met Jayda's eyes. "Because you are more incredible than any person I have ever met."

"But…"

"You're more powerful, more benevolent, more joyful…"

"More dangerous."

Valynne smiled again, her pointed ears rising as her cheeks pushed them aside. "That has never sent me from you."

"No, it's just sent you out of Harmony in the middle of the night. And one time out the window. And last week it was your bed on fire. And the lightning storm before that and…" she stopped herself. "I know I shouldn't focus on my weaknesses like this but every time I wake up I feel the same dissatisfaction and longing." She looked to Valynne. "Why?"

Valynne's smile faded and she removed her arm from Jayda's shoulders. "Was it the same one?"

At that there was a knock on the door. Both women rose from the mattress and scurried in silence to replace everything as it was. The knock came again. Jayda was pulling the tangled blanket over the foot of Valynne's bed when the door burst open. She jumped, straightened, and faced the Templar.

"Jayda." Ser Terrance Porter stood in the doorway, his armored shadow looming at her feet. "Come with me."

She glanced to Valynne and winked as she followed Terrance down the hall.

Routine.

That's what this was. This was not the first time her visits in the Fade had caused some trouble in West Seleny Tower and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She practically skipped on the way to the room in which they confined her. It was used for solitary confinement for her and her alone. Other places like this existed for when other mages were struggling to find Harmony. Since all of them would, eventually, no room was ever designated for one particular mage. Except hers.

It was understood that such a treatment, used long-term and without Templar supervision, caused the condition of the other mages there to magnify but it was the only way that they could control her. It had a chair and a table, a bed with linens, a brazier, and even though it was technically solitary confinement, she was never really there alone. She was always accompanied by whichever Templar was on duty that night.

Ser Porter wasn't all bad. He was duty-bound like most Templars and fearful of the Knight-Commander more than most. She thought she had heard that he had come from Val Royeaux. Why a nobleman would be in West Seleny, it was hard to say. It was easier to say " _i_ _mo bullae noceret mihi"._ Though she wasn't sure why she learned to say that, of all the phrases available in her books.

They made a left down the hall, her mind wandering. As they turned, Knight-Commander Roderick and Ser Solomon Garde passed them, followed by a man in an ominous cloak, the hood covering his head. They were oblivious to her wanderings. She was not usually so obliged to meet the Commander and when she did it was usually under harsh circumstances. He knew her well and she feared him some. But this moment the group was too concerned with their conversations to give mind to her which was why she took the brief opportunity to eavesdrop.

"… Redcliffe?" Roderick asked, skeptical.

"They say he's talented." Ser Garde hushed his words. Roderick sighed.

"They have said that before." Replied the cloaked man. "We have enough talent here. We need someone unique."

"Perhaps this new fellow _is_ what we seek!" Knight Commander chimed in. "The letters from my cousin speak more and more of…"

A new Templar?

Her heart sank slightly. That meant one thing: they were going to attempt to find someone else to break her. Her condition was as permanent as she could remember and their quest to find someone to "help" was just as persistent. Ser Porter himself had been one of the many brought in in an attempt to cure her and bring her to Harmony. No Templar had ever been successful. At one point they thought they would attempt to bring her to Harmony using other mages but that only ended in a week in solitary confinement for her and a few broken limbs of the others involved. Luckily no one was killed but she was waiting for the day when she wouldn't be so lucky.

They reached her solitary room, Ser Porter sat her down, lit the brazier, and sat across from her.

"Now, let's make this quick, shall we?" Ser Porter pulled out a book; leather bound, the pages leaking from the seams. He dipped a quill in an ink well and hovered it above a blank page.

"Love to." She replied.

"We sensed that you entered into a Fade Walk. Can you confirm this?"

"Yes." She was bored already.

"How long would you estimate the Walk to have taken?"

"No more than 5 minutes."

"Our recorders believe it lasted at least an hour."

"I'm sure." Like she thought: routine.

"Do you recall anyone being injured when your Walk ended?"

She raised an eye brow. "You don't know?" Spite dripped from her words.

He cleared his throat. "That's not the point, Jayda. Do you recall anyone being injured?"

"No." she crossed her arms and looked at the wall.

"Do you anticipate revisiting the Fade if you fall asleep now?"

"Yes." Andraste's panties this was awful.

"You should be monitored by Templars for the rest of the evening."

"Could I stop you?" she didn't mean for it to sound like a threat but the way that Ser Porter's eyebrows jumped on his forehead, it wasn't the response he was expecting. They feared her. Unlike Valynne, they had no reason to. She could see them when she was walking in the Fade. She could hear them, touch them even. She knew to avoid them. That's why they were there, she supposed. To keep them from harming others or themselves. Especially her. Every night.

"You know this is only for your protection, Jayda."

She uncrossed her arms. "Are you going to put that in the book?"

Ser Porter sighed. "No, not tonight."

"Fine." and with that, she walked to the bed and laid down. Ser Porter sat at the table finishing his notes. Before she knew it she was asleep again and in the Fade. This time, she was in the room where she had fallen asleep, Ser Porter sitting at the table with a deck of cards.

The rest of the night went as anticipated. She and Ser Porter played a rousing game of Wicked Grace in the Fade before she awoke. She won. As the daylight cracked through the walls of the Fade, she stretched and yawned. Some days she didn't know how she survived these events. Like clockwork, like the rising and setting of the sun; she was always in motion. Whether waking or dreaming her mind and body were constant. Some days she wished it would end. Other nights she only wished to finish her dreams.

After Ser Porter also came from the Fade, he dismissed her back to her room. Unlike her, the Templars could get no rest while in the Fade. Their projection into that realm required a great deal of mental acuity. Some of them, when they start out, can't even think to play cards or talk to her.

She groaned. She was going to have to train another one, wasn't she?

She put her hand on the door knob and entered her room. Valynne was still sleeping so she took the liberty to lie on her own bed and relax.

The cloaked man that was with Knight-Commander Roderick and Ser Garde must have been the trainer she's heard about. Demitri… Draconis… she couldn't remember his name. She honestly couldn't care less. Clearly he wasn't so great as his job since they had to continually bring in new Templars, none of whom could successfully bring her to Harmony.

Templars can't inherently enter the Fade like mages, of course, which is why Knight-Commander Roderick and Ser Garde are constantly looking for new recruits. They must be particularly skilled in several areas to be allowed to serve at West Seleny. Jayda couldn't say what all their training contained because she herself couldn't care less. However they did what they did to be how they were was because of dangerous, out of hand mages.

Because of her.

This new Templar was here for her.

And she hated that she was so dangerous that she required such oversight. Fade Walkers were always a risk, no exceptions. But she had made no steps toward Harmony, despite many new recruits and different techniques. Whatever kept her from Harmony seemed to be permanent.

She was hopeful that perhaps he or she would be like Ser Keely or Ser Porter. Firm but entertaining. Even helpful and fun at times.

Valynne stirred in her bed, throwing the covers off and planting her feet on the floor. A new day was about to begin.

But, of course, she would have to wait some time before meeting this new Templar.

They always start out the new ones in the Chamber.


End file.
